Picture, Prayerize, Materialize

Consider this phrase: “Picturize, Prayerize, Materialize.” Sometimes what you see and hope to get will materialize.It will happen and won’t be just a dream. The phrase “Picturize, Prayerize, Materialize” reminds me of something that I really wanted years ago.

At the time, I was speaking at a convention in Myrtle Beach, North Carolina. The resort was located on a picturesque piece of property. Since I had the afternoon off, my daughter and I rented bikes and started our leisurely father-daughter ride. We talked about life, boys, and cheerleading. As we rode that sunny afternoon, I noticed a beautiful, white, four-door Lincoln with a dark blue canvas roof. It was awesome! I asked Erin for the camera and walked as close as I could to take a picture or two of the car.

To our surprise, the owner came out of his very large estate to remind me I was standing on private property. My daughter loved it! Dad was being reprimanded by an adult! Quickly, my feet started moving, and we were back on the bike trail. That night at dinner, my daughter couldn’t wait to give her mother an update. You’re probably wondering what I did with the picture that got me into trouble.

That picture became a permanent addition to my bathroom mirror and my desktop. Several times a day, I looked at that picture. Six months passed. Then one day, we visited a local Lincoln Mercury store. The general manager said, “Remember that car you wanted and were dreaming of? You’re not going to believe this, but a retiring judge just traded in that exact car last night so he could buy his wife a smaller car.”

My daughter was in shock. She said, “Whatever you think about comes about, right, dad?” She was reminding me of what she had heard me repeat many times.

Learn to Picturize, Prayerize, and it will Materialize. I have been a sales trainer since I had brown hair and had hair. One day, I was in Atlanta, Georgia, calling on the World Headquarters of Coca Cola. This day, we had an appointment with the head person of purchasing for Coke—Worldwide. The sales person accompanying me on this trip asked me what he should do before calling on an account. I told him if it’s a large account like Coke or a small account where the husband & wife run the business…it’s all the same.

My strategy and preparation are simple. I first picture the buyer as a nice person and that they like me. They trust my company or firm and then I see the buyer in my mind, signing a very large purchase order. And then, guess what happened? He did just that. It was one of the largest purchase orders that we ever had. The buyer was a nice person. It was the sales call made in Heaven, or should I say made first in my mind. People from other walks of life share similar thinking.

Many famous golfers say that they first see the ball spin into the hole way before they pull their putter back and do their slow and even strike onto the ball. It’s called Picturize, Prayerize, Materialize.

Visualization and expectation is when you expect things that you want and try not to expect the things that you don’t want. Here’s another Picturize, Prayerize, Materialize event.

When we purchased a very nice home in the Atlanta, Georgia area, the basement was not finished. The development was really located in a “fake it, till you make it” neighborhood where most of us bought more home than we really needed at the time. Most of us certainly had no way to fill it with furniture.

When we moved into the neighborhood, my daughter Erin was only 8 years old. In one corner of the unfinished basement, I put up a wall and made it into a make-shift workshop. Erin had two little friends she was showing the house. They didn’t know I was behind the wall, but I could hear every world they said. My daughter began to mimic me! Not always good! But I listened.

Erin continued with, “Now here will be the movie theatre. Over here and there will be the ice cream bar, and this will be where the pool table will go”. She told one of her friends to step back because she was now standing where the jukebox was going to be. And, yes, there will be a dance floor.

Now, my daughter is all grown-up. And just as she told her friends that day, the basement is furnished as she described it. There is a movie theatre with real movie seats, a dance floor with black and white tile, a pool table, and an ice cream soda fountain. The only difference is that we did not get an old jukebox. We installed a 1973 Ford Thunderbird jukebox. A rare find! And it makes for a great sounding jukebox. Picturize, Prayerize, Materialize!!!

My wish to all of you is to learn to picturize. Picture in your mind, first the car, the home, business or career that you want. Then pray, think or meditate on it. And then get ready for what materializes. In the words of my dad, “Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, he will achieve!”

By adapting these three words, Picturize, Prayerize, Materialize, you, too, will be on the right track for what you want.

Until next time.

DJ Harrington is an author, journalist, seminar leader, international trainer, and marketing consultant. He works primarily with customer service personnel, and his clients include such world-class companies as General Motors, DuPont, Caterpillar, and Damon Corporation. He can be reached at 800-352-5252 or by e-mail at dj@djsays.com.